A cold morning in Southern Vermont Green Mountains.

[LazyDog]

Here in the midwest it is been crazy cold to, and I just had enough of it. I am looking for some tickets to visit mom in Mexico.

 

[Number_35]

The tank was filled on Thursday, and our storage capacity is 660 gallons of No 2 oil.

Our money will run out before our oil

We also have frigid climate Mitsubishi heat pump mini splits. They were still pumping out heat at zero degrees, but we shut them down and fired up the oil hot water heating system. Below zero, its more economically efficient than the heat pumps.

My main concern is, we had to leave one car out in the driveway. I hope its anti freeze did the job.

Presuming the car outside is not equipped with a block heater, I would put a trouble light with a 100 W incandescent bulb under the hood.

It's amazing how much this can help.

 

[Astro14]

Presuming the car outside is not equipped with a block heater, I would put a trouble light with a 100 W incandescent bulb under the hood.

It's amazing how much this can help.

When we lived in Winnipeg, -27F was common. Once in a while it was considerably colder.

But that was back in the days of carburetors and conventional oil. If the ‘68 Country Squire was not plugged in (block, battery and interior heaters) it would be dead as a doornail in those temperatures.

 

[eljefino]

I also suffered from baseboard heating not keeping up. Set it to 70'F before I left for work Friday morning, came home to it at 61. Set the thermostat to 85 to ensure it would never not want heat (which could freeze the baseboard pipes), and lit the woodstove. That brought it up to a nice 67 and I went to bed, made it through the night.

Project Lincoln goes in for a state inspection today, here's a cold start after sitting in a snowbank for two weeks. Pretty boring!



And Lower Bay of Sebago Lake this morning:

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Just fired up the Tundra at -14F and it was a little unnerving for the following reasons:

1. Cranked for 6 or 7 seconds and it usually cranks for 1-2 but understandable

2. There was a very loud whining noise I'd never heard before for the first 5 of the 6 or 7 seconds it cranked. This was the most concerning - never heard anything remotely like it from any vehicle.

3. Clearly blue smoke for the first 10 seconds after starting followed by the normal white. This engine has 35K miles on it and not a hint of oil usage.

Nothing about that was normal.

I lost water pump seals and alternator bearings on a couple relatively new Toyotas the last time we were visited with -15F weather.

Had to commute to work then. Not anymore.

 

[PWMDMD]

Just fired up the Tundra at -14F and it was a little unnerving for the following reasons:

1. Cranked for 6 or 7 seconds and it usually cranks for 1-2 but understandable

2. There was a very loud whining noise I'd never heard before for the first 5 of the 6 or 7 seconds it cranked. This was the most concerning - never heard anything remotely like it from any vehicle.

3. Clearly blue smoke for the first 10 seconds after starting followed by the normal white. This engine has 35K miles on it and not a hint of oil usage.

Nothing about that was normal.

She seems happy and normal now that she’s warmed up. I’ve driven about 20 miles and trans temp won’t go above 160F and coolant won’t go above 185F. Both are usually 200F.

 

[Number_35]

When we lived in Winnipeg, -27F was common. Once in a while it was considerably colder.

But that was back in the days of carburetors and conventional oil. If the ‘68 Country Squire was not plugged in (block, battery and interior heaters) it would be dead as a doornail in those temperatures.

Yes, we usually get a few days in excess of -30°C (-22°F), and have broken -40°C (-40°F) a number of times, though not every year.

My PR was walking to school in -45.4°C (-50°F) when I was 8. That was early 1966. They kept us in for recess.

I moved back here in 1978 to finish university. My car (a '68 Impala) didn't have a block heater. I had one installed, but often forgot to plug it in.

It did start, unplugged, one morning at -38°C (-36°F) but was very unhappy. Cranked very very slowly, and when it started the oil light stayed on for an eternity, while the engine made unhappy noises. 5 seconds? That was running Quaker State 10W-30 dino.

I wonder how many thousands of miles of engine life I took off the old 307 that morning.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

-13F here in central MA. I believe my boiler/baseboards are at max capacity for the first-floor zone (lots of cathedral ceilings, doors, windows, and skylights) because the thermostat is at 64F and it's been slowly losing ground overnight. It's currently 61F in that zone. The rest of the house with regular ceilings is fine and maintaining 64F. This has never happened in the 8 years I've lived here.

FWIW...it's 64F because my wife is going through "the change" and constantly complaining how "stiflingly hot" it is in here at 64F.

I sort of have that living in a Chalet style log cabin. This thing is a sieve in windy weather!

I have been tweaking my oil burner to have a good flame the last few days. In +25degF weather the burner runs about 10min cycle per hour set at 65F. In this -10F weather its running about a 12min cycle every half hour. So my oil usage likely doubled from 3.7 gallons a day to over 7 gallons a day.

I can handle that cost for a couple days I suppose. The Boiler tech who did a clean out in the Fall last year put a new more efficient W pattern 0.85 gal/hr spray nozzle in the burner gun - it works great!

-Ken

 

[PWMDMD]

Just fired up the Tundra at -14F and it was a little unnerving for the following reasons:

1. Cranked for 6 or 7 seconds and it usually cranks for 1-2 but understandable

2. There was a very loud whining noise I'd never heard before for the first 5 of the 6 or 7 seconds it cranked. This was the most concerning - never heard anything remotely like it from any vehicle.

3. Clearly blue smoke for the first 10 seconds after starting followed by the normal white. This engine has 35K miles on it and not a hint of oil usage.

Nothing about that was normal.

Just found this and my Tundra is a 2020. Interestingly, it doesn’t say if it’s a problem or what to do other than contact Toyota.

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10170731-9999.pdf

 

[Snagglefoot]

Just fired up the Tundra at -14F and it was a little unnerving for the following reasons:

1. Cranked for 6 or 7 seconds and it usually cranks for 1-2 but understandable

2. There was a very loud whining noise I'd never heard before for the first 5 of the 6 or 7 seconds it cranked. This was the most concerning - never heard anything remotely like it from any vehicle.

3. Clearly blue smoke for the first 10 seconds after starting followed by the normal white. This engine has 35K miles on it and not a hint of oil usage.

Nothing about that was normal.

We’re making you a honorary Hoser!

 

[PWMDMD]

I sort of have that living in a Chalet style log cabin. This thing is a sieve in windy weather!

I have been tweaking my oil burner to have a good flame the last few days. In +25degF weather the burner runs about 10min cycle per hour set at 65F. In this -10F weather its running about a 12min cycle every half hour. So my oil usage likely doubled from 3.7 gallons a day to over 7 gallons a day.

I can handle that cost for a couple days I suppose. The Boiler tech who did a clean out in the Fall last year put a new more efficient W pattern 0.85 gal/hr spray nozzle in the burner gun - it works great!

-Ken

It's supposed to be 45F here tomorrow and temps are already rising to a balmy -3F and when I got home the first-floor zone was off at 64F. Somewhere around -10F seems to be the point at which there's an issue. Not a big deal....we see 0 to -5F a few times per year and it can be for a few days but -10F and lower has been very rare.

 

[FT92]

and I thought 5 was cold this morning.

 

[Owen Lucas]

Colder than Mars.

 

[k1xv]

I would move and be done with it.

On the positive side, at this location, summer temperature has never exceeded 89F. And we have no traffic, streetlights, or traffic lights. You can see the Milky Way with the naked eye.

 

[methusaleh]

Northern Vermont last night, one of my Blink cameras at the lowest point on my property:

 

[Sam_Julier]

I was Nordic skiing in Stowe VT from Tuesday to Thursday.

Wednesday night I left dinner on the Mountain Road at 9pm, temperature 27.

Thursday morning at 7am the winds were howling and the temp was -9.

At noon in Waterbury it was -13 with high winds.

I did not ski that morning. Decided to read in bed until lunch time. See picture below.

The 93 Volvo sedan has HPL No VII Euro in the sump. I’m certain that’s why it started instantly.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

It's supposed to be 45F here tomorrow and temps are already rising to a balmy -3F and when I got home the first-floor zone was off at 64F. Somewhere around -10F seems to be the point at which there's an issue. Not a big deal....we see 0 to -5F a few times per year and it can be for a few days but -10F and lower has been very rare.

I probably live no more than 50 miles from you, I am about 75 miles north from Hanover, MA - I know the distance as I make that trip about one a month down I-93 S and Route 3 to the Cape.

Took the miniature Ford CUV out after the -13F blustery evening. Cranked slow for about 3-4 seconds. Started up, ran a bit lumpy. Let it idle for a minute and then drove off at just a hair above Idle. The DIC readout showed I was using 2 gal/hour so I was going to make sure that was making some distance and not making goo in the oil pan. The AWD drivetrain was very noisy. I thought about this for a minute and figured the rubber or liquid transaxle mounts were stiff from the cold. Tires were at 27psig. That progressed to 31psig as I traveled 10 miles up the state highway.

After chowing down a large cup of Wendy's chili, I headed off to the pet food store, Every thing was running dandy and quiet. It was about +12 degrees F then. I will check the coolant today to see if any squeaked by the waterpump shaft seal.

- Ken

 

[methusaleh]

I was Nordic skiing in Stowe VT from Tuesday to Thursday.

Wednesday night I left dinner on the Mountain Road at 9pm, temperature 27.

Thursday morning at 7am the winds were howling and the temp was -9.

At noon in Waterbury it was -13 with high winds.

I did not ski that morning. Decided to read in bed until lunch time. See picture below.

The 93 Volvo sedan has HPL No VII Euro in the sump. I’m certain that’s why it started instantly.

The Pro Pig!! Always a treat to stop there.

For a more casual atmosphere and out of this world breakfast or lunch, try Maxi’s someday. They tend to always be packed but it’s worth the wait. I always go there before and/or after a car show.

Today it’s 31 degrees in my front yard. I was outside cleaning my old yard truck/plow in a tshirt and jeans, welcoming the sun!

 

[CT Rob]

Just fired up the Tundra at -14F and it was a little unnerving for the following reasons:

1. Cranked for 6 or 7 seconds and it usually cranks for 1-2 but understandable

2. There was a very loud whining noise I'd never heard before for the first 5 of the 6 or 7 seconds it cranked. This was the most concerning - never heard anything remotely like it from any vehicle.

3. Clearly blue smoke for the first 10 seconds after starting followed by the normal white. This engine has 35K miles on it and not a hint of oil usage.

Nothing about that was normal.

My 17 Tundra did the exact same thing .Long crank and it was whining and screeching like all the pulleys pumps and bearings where about to seize lol.

 

[PWMDMD]

My 17 Tundra did the exact same thing .Long crank and it was whining and screeching like all the pulleys pumps and bearings where about to seize lol.

I'm glad to hear it wasn't just mine. It's such a drama-free engine that I was genuinely shocked. Not too worried though, it's been 100% normal since then.